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Steve Jobs Health Worries Escalate

Posted by timothy on from the hope-he's-got-more-tricks-up-his-sleeve dept.

PolygamousRanchKid writes with this sad snippet from the San Francisco Chronicle: "We all know that Steve Jobs is sick. What's not known is how sick he is, and that's worrying investors of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) this morning, as well as everyone else. Jobs did have pancreatic cancer a few years ago, but he had a transplant and was able to come back to work. Last time, he gave some kind of time frame for returning to work. This time, he did not. Supposedly the National Enquirer is set to run pictures of Jobs with him looking frail and gaunt. Jobs was spotted leaving the Stanford Cancer Center in Palo Alto, California, according to RadarOnline.com."

20 of 520 comments (clear)

  1. who cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    who cares? let the man live his own life

    1. Re:who cares by Tanktalus · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'm not sure why this is marked troll. Seriously, let's keep peoples' private lives private, and only publicise public aspects of their lives.

    2. Re:who cares by amicusNYCL · · Score: 4, Insightful

      who cares?

      The shareholders of his publicly-traded personality cult care.

      --
      "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
    3. Re:who cares by hairyfeet · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Because unlike with other CxOs Steve Jobs has purposely built a cult of personality around him that will seriously affect the stock. A good example of the difference is MSFT, where if you ask the average Joe they still think Gates runs the thing. If Ballmer was hit by a car tomorrow nobody outside the tech world would take much notice and it is doubtful that the stock would take a nosedive.

      Now compare that to Jobs where we HAVE seen the stock take a serious hit just from a phony death rumor. IMHO Steve Jobs has failed Apple by not pushing a successor the second he came back from the transplant. he should have been grooming his successor from day one and pushing them beside him in the spotlight wherever possible. instead you have had Steve take front and center (typical narcissist behavior) the SECOND he was able to get back to work and all talks about successors went the way of the Newton.

      So honestly Steve deserves no privacy because he brought it upon himself by making himself the center of the Apple universe and not doing anything to stop the "cult of Steve" hell if anything he pumped it up. So just like any other business where rightly or wrongly success if believed to hinge on a key component or player, so too does Steve's health affect the bottom line and the shareholders have a right to know. If Steve didn't want it to be this way he could have been sharing the spotlight and grooming his replacement, but I guess Steve doesn't do well with sharing.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    4. Re:who cares by Paradise+Pete · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The iPhone revolutionized the phone business. The iPad revolutionized the tablet market. You may or may not like them as products, but that much is incontrovertibly true.

  2. He's probably dying by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Abdominal cancers are not fun. Pancreatic cancers are almost always fatal. I'm sure his wealth has probably bought him time... but you can't cheat death.

    1. Re:He's probably dying by Pieroxy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Can't we just leave him alone? I mean, when he bashes on Google openly, let the press and everyone else fire full power. It's fair game.

      But now? Doesn't he deserve some privacy or even just some respect? Not because of what he's done, be because of what he is living right now.

      --
      Write boring code, not shiny code!
    2. Re:He's probably dying by MightyMartian · · Score: 4, Informative

      My understanding was that Job's form of pancreatic cancer is not the almost-guaranteed-to-be-fatal kind that Patrick Swayze had.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  3. TLDR: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Long story short, Satan has come to collect his part of the agreement.

    Posted anon, cause apple fanbois gave up their sense of humor in exchange for shiny things.

  4. Re:Leave Steve Jobs Alone by MooseMuffin · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Seriously, leave him alone. Even more so if he's actually dying.

  5. Stock by scubamage · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Man, i may dump my savings into apple stock once it bottoms out after his death. There's going to be a massive unloading, we all know it.

  6. A pic here by A+Friendly+Troll · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/4d5c75d8cadcbbc41b160000/steve-jobs-sick.jpg

    There's also a sensationalist headline over here:

    http://thenextweb.com/apple/2011/02/17/steve-jobs-may-have-just-six-weeks-to-live-receiving-treatment/

    The Daily Mail spoke to Dr Jerome Spunberg, a certified Oncologist, who said: âoeMr Jobs is most likely getting outpatient chemotherapy at Stanford because the cancer has recurred.â

    Another consultant, Dr. Gabe Mirkin, a physician with over fourty years experience, said: âoeHe is terminal. What you are seeing is extreme muscle wasting from calorie depravation, most likely caused by cancer. He has no muscle left in his buttocks, which is the last place to go. He definitely appears to be in the terminal stages of his life from these photos. I would be surprised if he weighed more than 130lb.â

    The National Enquirer, who initially reported the news today (to be published tomorrow), talked to critical-care physician Dr. Samuel Jacobson, who said, âoeJudging from the photos, he is close to terminal. I would say he has six weeks.â That said, given the reliability of The National Enquirer, waiting for further news before jumping to conclusions is advised.

    Weâ(TM)ve done a little digging into Dr. Samuel Jacobson. Jacobson appears to be a Florida based pulmonologist (breathing doctor) â" not Oncologist. Which would naturally make you wonder just how qualified he is to diagnose someone via a photo, especially outside of his speciality.

  7. Why this matters by Jim+Hall · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This item has only been up a few minutes, and already a lot of people are asking why this matters, why they should care. Here's why:

    If you use a Mac, you should care about this.

    Steve Jobs is unquestionably the driving force behind Apple. His return to Apple as the iCEO, followed by the introduction of new streamlined iMacs, the iPod, ... all demonstrated that Steve had returned to make Apple's mark on the industry. How many of the general population - not to mention us IT geeks - have an iPod? I look around my office and see high level executives using iPads. Steve made these a success. The same technology in a different package - maybe even the same package but a different salesman - wouldn't be as popular.

    Pundits, fans, and teh haters all pay attention when Steve makes a new announcement of any new Apple product. That's the presence Steve brings to the game. He's like a tiny god. Love him or hate him, you can't deny he understands the market, and how to drive new products to get at that "I want it" mentality.

    But unfortunately, Steve's success is a double-edged sword. He's the driving force behind Apple. He's also the driving force behind Apple. There was no succession planning here. His second in command isn't well known. He's not the face of Apple. I wonder who will follow him.

    I wish Steve the best, and if he's able to return as CEO, I think that would be great. But if he doesn't ... look for Apple's stock to plummet. Even if the new guy has all kinds of bright ideas, I don't think he'll have the same presence as Steve, and won't be able to garner the same attention for the company. Apple has lots of new items in the pipeline, I'm sure, so the new guy's leadership won't truly be tested/visible for another 12 to 18 months. In that time, he needs to make his own mark, or Apple will quickly find itself on the sidelines trying to catch up to the rest of the market - rather than leading the market.

    That's what has investors worried. And that is why you should care about this item.

    Disclaimer: I am not an Apple fan, but I work in IT.

  8. Consider the Source by SavoWood · · Score: 4, Insightful

    When the pictures come from The National Enquirer, you really need to consider the source. Also, the doctor making this prognosis was doing so based on the pictures. Didn't we all jump on the idiot in Congress a few years ago for diagnosing that woman in Florida using a short video clip?

    Let's take this to a conspiracy level and say people are putting out this news to get the stock price to drop a bit so they can snap it up and wait for the retraction of the article and the stock goes back up, they make a pretty penny.

    --
    Plant a tree in a developing country.
  9. Netcraft confirms it: Steve Jobs is dying. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Doctors of Medicinal Wizardry at Netcraft Sanitoriums have determined that Steve Jobs is dying. His slow lapse into death is due to a lack of Ego, which he has depleted to run Apple Enterprises. It was considered giving him a shot of Humility (which has has no natural reserve of) as an experimental treatment, but past review of his life has determined that this would be of no effect. Apple fanbois are quietly assembling at Cupertino to prepare for the inevitable deathwatch.

  10. Re:Why is the media following the National Enquire by corbettw · · Score: 4, Informative

    Don't forget that it was The National Enquirer who broke the story on the Edwards baby and affair. They've established some cred on investigative journalism over the last several years.

    I'm not saying they're right here, I'm just saying it's foolish to discount them out of hand.

    --
    God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world.
  11. Re:Seriously don't care... by blair1q · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Woz was the technical genius who put the parts together to make the new product simple enough to be useful to millions.

    Jobs is the one who ensured millions understood why it was useful.

    History is littered with people who thought you could be Apple by skimping on either of those talents.

  12. Are we sure it is Steve Jobs in the photos? by The+Optimizer · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The guys over at jalopnik aren't so sure, unless he's traded in his Mercedes SL55 AMG for a 10+ year old Honda Civic...

    http://jalopnik.com/#!5763321/cmon-does-the-national-enquirer-really-think-steve-jobs-owns-a-honda

  13. Re:Private Lives by TaoPhoenix · · Score: 5, Funny

    Except Mark Zuckerberg

    He deserves to have every facet of his life known and subjected to Liking or DisLiking.

    --
    My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
  14. Re:You present the Apple Hater meme, not reality. by kaffiene · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I understand what the word means. I used it precisely because of it's meaning.

    I'm referring to the Job's role in maintaining the Apple cult. The view that there's one way to do it - Apple's way and no other. It is a totalitarian ideology. It permits no criticism and the cult members leap in to defend the cult against all opposing points of view.

    That's a fascist world view.

    As someone with a degree in Philosophy who has studied Politicial Science, I know perfectly well what the word 'fascist' means.

    I like the way you try to define opposing views as not worthy of comment rather than thinking about them. Good little cult member.